As you put in the work to create success, you will experience moments of pure excitement. You set a goal and worked to achieve it. When you do, that’s cause for celebration. You share your wins and accomplishments with family, friends, and those on social media. People cheer for you.

During all the time you’re not with anyone, a lot is going on behind the scenes. Especially in your mind. It’s easy to come off a high and experience your emotions plummeting as darker thoughts try to creep in. 

You try to be authentic with what you share publicly, but you’re a human being that deals with all those complexities. There are things you may be ashamed and embarrassed to admit to anyone other than those closest to you. 

You want the world to see you as a take-on-the-world-without-blinking sort of leader. However, there are things you struggle with but wish you didn’t. If you’re going to create surreal growth in your life, it’s time to get honest about what could hold you back. Clarity is power, and one of the keys to continuing your development. 

Here are some mindset challenges you’ll need to overcome if you want to become the best version of yourself. 

1. Envy of success

You’ve had some cool wins that should make you cheer when you see others experience the exhilaration of success. Sometimes you do, but too often, you don’t celebrate the success of others. You can’t let crazy thoughts run wild through your mind. You spend too much time wondering what that person did to get the win. You wonder why more people didn’t “like” your status or retweet when you shared your good news. 

You think twice before sharing their win because you don’t remember them liking or sharing yours. Envy has a pattern of laying dark roots in your mind. Life would be fantastic if lots of cool things happened to you, but sometimes good things take time to develop. Don’t give envy a place in your mind. Don’t get discouraged or give up because the world is not cheering. When your fellow human being receives a win, celebrate because life is hard for all.

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

2. A quick temper

Learning to relax and getting there quicker is a requirement to live a fulfilled life. But life and growth are messy. You yell at times, pout, and walk out of rooms to make your point. You have temporary moments of insanity where you forget how much goodness is in your life. When you want to give in to your moments of mental challenge, don’t. Take the necessary seconds to breathe deeply. Open your eyes and smile. 

3. Impulse control struggles

You want what you want, and you often want it now. You see new technology, smell food, get an email about book deals, and want to buy. It can feel harder to wait, but if every person always got what they wanted, life would fall apart as you lived the life of a spoiled child. It takes time but exercising impulse control teaches you patience and life lessons. Your goal should be small daily victories, and impulse control is a necessary daily win. 

4. Persistent self-limiting beliefs

Despite experiencing success, you still struggle with various life moments. The ties to your old self still linger, and haters are quick to point out your past. Every day, you battle self-limiting beliefs, and they tend to occupy too much of your headspace. To grow, you have to get better and believe in what you can accomplish with consistent action. 

Self-limiting beliefs are challenges that we all struggle with in some form. They will always be in the back of our minds trying to convince us to stay complacent. Life is too short. Talk it out and pursue success no matter what they try to tell you. 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

5. Not experiencing full presence

You miss moments in your life and the life of those you love. You tell yourself it’s a necessary sacrifice. Our healthy relationships deserve all of what we can give, not what’s left after a hundred other things have gotten our attention.

We have to be there and not just in physical presence. We have to listen and understand that being fully present is a victorious virtue. We have to focus on every moment and tune out the shiny objects that pull on our attention. Success requires full presence and living each moment.

Earning a living is hard. Maintaining healthy habits is harder. Not fighting seems impossible. Getting distracted and losing focus happens. There are too many ways to lose belief and become derailed from your success journey. To make progress, you have to learn to keep your eyes and mind on what’s important right now. You have to take this journey one step at a time. You’re not perfect, and neither is anyone else — that’s okay. Do your best and work on improving every day.